Missing the Moon
by charlibubble
Summary: "Lets...have dinner" He had said the words before he was fully aware of them and suddenly found his mind reeling desperately reaching for a way to level the playing field. "You, Me...Elisabetta..."
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: **_

_**This was supposed to be a one shot... I got slightly carried away... it is now a 2 maybe 3 shot... and FYI I don't want to talk about last nights episode - I am still crying. Reviews will cheer me slightly ;) **_

_**Charli xxx**_

* * *

**Missing the Moon**

There had been something so poignant in that hug. It had been completely unplanned and caught him off guard as much as it did her but when he had wrapped her in his arms it felt so..._right._

He couldn't explain it but all of a sudden he had an undeniable need to go after her.

She had been very vocal about her distaste of his relationship with Elisabetta. At first he had gone into defensive mode and assumed that she was judging him like the rest of the lab but as the day had progressed he had begun to form another opinion.

She was jealous.

It became apparent after his phone call with his lawyer. Some of the things she had said pulled at his heart-strings like nothing ever had. He wasn't used to hearing positives about himself, more often than not any compliments he received were cloaked in sarcasm but he knew that when it came from Morgan it was the truth. She had never lied to him, her honesty was one of her most endearing features.

In fact Morgan had a long list of endearing feature's. He had been somewhat blinded to them recently, he was so lost in Elisabetta and while he couldn't deny he had enjoyed Morgan's company increasingly more as time wore on he had not looked at her in the way he probably should have.

She was a very attractive young woman, one who made him smile on a daily basis, who challenged him intellectually and who wasn't afraid to speak her mind. There was something special about Morgan Brody, something he just couldn't put his finger on and while he had agreed to never speak of it again he could still remember just how sweet her lips had tasted against his.

Of course Elisabetta was a beautiful woman too and they had shared a glorious week together in Italy. She was so full of life and passion he had simply been caught up in her whirlwind. Every time he saw her he seemed to lose the ability to say anything negative to her. His arguments and protests fell silent on his lips as he looked into her wide dark eyes.

His feet moved of their own accord, taking him along the corridor and out into the parking lot. He could see her golden hair bouncing as she walked to her car, it shone like sunshine pulling his attention towards her involuntarily.

"Morgan!" He cried, his voice echoing dramatically around the space.

He wasn't even sure what he was doing, his voice appeared out of nowhere and forced him into an action he wasn't prepared for. He stood on the steps watching as she turned on her heel and met his eye from across the tarmac.

He realised he had to do something now. He had made his presence known and she would want to know why. He took off at a jog to catch up to her outside her car, she simply stood there watching his every move and clutching her door like a shield.

"Hey, are you ok?" He muttered.

As he got closer he noticed that the shimmer of moisture in her eyes was much more than her usual sparkle. She had been crying and it broke his heart to think it had been his doing. He never intended to hurt her, he loved nothing more in this world than the sound of her beautiful laugh and the way her eyes lit up when she smiled.

Involuntarily he reached out a hand and brushed a shimmering tear from her soft skin. She pressed her eyes together and breathed a sigh into the air as his hand lingered on her cheek before she suddenly took a step back, retreating from him.

"I'm fine" She whispered, clearing her throat and averting her eyes uncomfortably. "What...what do you want?"

She looked so defeated he wanted to wrap her in his arms and never let her go but he knew that wouldn't solve anything.

"About...Elisabetta..." He stumbled, searching his palms for inspiration as to exactly what he wanted to say.

"Look, you don't need to explain anything to me" Morgan soothed, her hand resting on his arm spreading heat all over his entire body until she hastily removed it. He wondered if that was how it was always going to always be from now on, if they were always going to be over-thinking every gesture and every touch just because Elisabetta was on the scene. He hadn't imagined she could have caused so much instability in his other relationships.

"Lets...have dinner" He had said the words before he was fully aware of them and suddenly found his mind reeling desperately reaching for a way to level the playing field. "You, Me...Elisabetta..."

Morgan's eyes shot to his, holding his gaze as she tried to form an answer herself and a tiny frown furrowed on her delicate brow. He could almost see her brain trying to analyze his invitation.

"I...don't think that's a good idea" She muttered, stepping back out of his aura until she collided with the frame of the car.

"Come on..." He pleaded "For me? You might even like her"

Morgan drew breath and opened her mouth about to stage her protest but he widened his eyes and tilted his head. She never could resist his puppy dog eyes and sure enough her shoulders slumped and she sighed.

"Fine" She relented, ducking into the car as he stepped forward and held onto the door. She sat heavily on the seat wondering exactly what she had agreed to before blurting out "But I'm bringing a date"

She wasn't sure where the idea had come from or where she was going to find a date but something inside her seemed to feel the need to appear to be ok with this when in actual fact it was tearing her up inside.

If someone had told her a year ago that she could fall for someone like David Hodges she would have laughed in their face and now she found herself in a situation where he had taken over almost all of her life. He was her best friend, her confidante, her colleague and the last thought that crossed her mind every night before she went to sleep.

She _hated_ the way she had fallen for him, she _hated_ the way her heart raced whenever he smiled at her and the way she went out of her way to indulge in ridiculously childish arguments with him just for fun. She _hated_ how he could look right into her soul with his eyes but most of all she hated _knowing_ it had all been a lie.

She had fallen for a man who didn't belong to her, and if he married Elisabetta; he never would.

But that was something she had no control over and she owed it to him as a friend to at least pretend to accept his relationship. Her heart might be slowly breaking into a million pieces every time he heard her say her name but he couldn't possibly know that. She would make sure of it.

Hodges agreed to their double date with some reluctance and she drove home scanning her memory banks for someone suitable. Her dating life had come to a standstill recently, not least because of Mr Hodges monopolizing a lot of her time. They had fallen into a routine of midweek dinners and movie nights. Morgan wasn't sure she even remembered how to date anymore, it had been a long time since she had tried to.

Stepping inside her home she suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of emptiness. There were times when this place had been so full of laughter and joy and now it seemed sterile and empty.

With a sigh she threw down her purse and pressed her answer machine, listening to messages from her mother and her best friend back in LA. She missed her a lot more than she had realised, there was nothing better than curling up with a good girl friend and a tub of ice cream and gossiping until the wee hours of the morning.

Morgan fished out her address book and began flipping through the pages. Out of the few men she had met in Vegas there were only a handful she would even consider calling for this date. When she eventually narrowed it down to 3 she felt dismayed when she hung up the phone having bombed out with each of them.

For a fleeting moment she considered inviting Greg. He was a good friend and they had a lot in common but she soon brushed the idea aside realising she'd rather go alone than bear the brunt of that round of gossip in the lab. They had enough people questioning their love lives without fuelling the fire.

Grumbling under her breath she tossed the book aside and marched into the bedroom. All her clothes suddenly seemed so plain and boring compared to the glamour that was Elisabetta. She didn't know how she could possibly compete with the Italian beauty. Her pale skin looked positively ghostly beside her and she was certain that she would understand very little of what she said. Her Italian was patchy to say the least and shamefully what she did know she had been taught by none other than Hodges himself.

Throwing dress after dress onto the bed she began to get increasingly irate. Nothing seemed good enough and that alone annoyed her more than she would like to admit. Tonight was not going to go her way, she could feel it already and if their introduction at the lab had been anything to go by she was going to have to endure an entire meal of over-exagerrated public displays of affection.

Morgan eventually settled on a red dress, it was one she normally felt confident and attractive in but standing in front of the mirror at that moment she felt positively frumpy.

Hodges was messaging her, wondering where she was so she rushed out, tossing her purse over her shoulder she hurried outside trying to tell herself not to think about what lay ahead. She almost collided with Henry as she stepped out of her cab and glanced up at the restaurant Hodges had picked out. They had ate there before, on a few occasions when they wanted somewhere special. It had never seemed so terrifying.

"Morgan...you... you look great" Henry stumbled, looking her up and down with an air if nervousness around him.

"Henry? What are you doing here?" She questioned, even although the boxes of take-away in his hands told her everything she needed to know.

"Oh I'm not really here...if you know what I mean. I was just grabbing some food. Best Cannelloni in Vegas" He shrugged, waving the box around as though to emphasise the fact. "Where are you going?"

Morgan took a deep breath "I'm having dinner with Hodges... and his fiancée"

She placed a lot more emphasis on the word fiancée than she should have and the eye roll simply could not be supressed. Henry smiled his lopsided smile and shuffled on his feet, she could tell he was unsure what to say next.

"Do you have plans?" She asked him, the beginning of a plan blossoming in her mind.

"Just feeding my fish... you know, the exciting things in life" He smiled.

Morgan drew her teeth over her bottom lip, her mind whirring a mile a minute as she debated whether her idea was a good one or not.

"Would you like to take me to dinner?" She smiled.

It occurred to her that there was really no-one better to take on this ill-fated double date. Hodges already had this strange rivalry with Henry and while he was not the best person in pressure situations she was absolutely certain that he would enjoy sharing a meal with the charismatic Italian beauty they would be dining with.

"What's the catch?" He muttered, suspicious of her motives.

"No Catch" Morgan defended "I said I'd bring a date, you'd be saving me from the humiliation of showing up alone"

"But I'd have to eat with Hodges..." He protested, sticking out his bottom lip.

"We can make him pay..." She offered, stopping short of begging him to accompany her.

With a sigh Henry tossed his takeaway containers in the trash and offered her his arm. Morgan felt a huge moment of relief, slipping her hand through his arm and mouthing a 'thank you' in his direction as they stepped inside the restaurant.

She spotted them straight away, seated at a table in the centre of the room. Elisabetta was feeding Hodges breadstick's and pawing at his face just as she had expected. Henry's tightened his grip around her arm and he patted her hand gently. A gesture of solidarity and companionship that she appreciated more than she would let him know. The truth was, she was terrified of what would occur tonight.

"Do I have to be nice to him?" Henry grumbled, his eyes fixed on the same table hers were with a similar look of distaste on his face.

"Not at all" She smiled as they followed the waiter to their seats.

She had to admit that the look of surprise on his face when he saw them arriving was worth her pathetic show of weakness with Henry and she took great joy in smiling brightly and greeting Elisabetta like a true professional despite the burning sensation in her throat as she growled the words 'nice to meet you'.

Hodges swallowed the lump in his throat as he pulled out her seat for her and the scent of her light perfume filled his system. Henry had surprised him and he squirmed in his seat under Hodges scrutiny. He had never saw Henry as a real threat, even way back when she had been brand new and enjoyed playing them off one another he had known that he could monopolise her attention much better than Henry could yet now she seemed to cling to him. Her hand never left his leg, a fact he noticed when he raised the bottle of wine and filled their glasses. It struck him as strange, that he hadn't really noticed this blossoming relationship.

"Elisabetta picked out the wine" Hodges informed them, his bride to be beaming with pride on the other side of the table. Morgan couldn't seem to help but narrow her eyes in her direction, a gesture that certainly didn't go unnoticed by Hodges. He threw her a questioning glance before she diverted her eyes quickly and took a sip of the wine she had already decided would taste offensive.

"Is this from your region?" Henry questioned, keen to make sociable conversation to distill the palpable tension that had settled over their table.

Elisabetta nodded enthusiastically. "Direct from Tuscany!" She declared "Bellissimo!"

Morgan rolled her eyes again, taking a long sip of the wine and deciding that the only way she would survive tonight was to consume a lot of alcohol. Hodges was desperately seeking out her eye contact and she made a great deal of effort ignoring him. The last thing she needed right now was for him to do something sweet and break through her carefully constructed defences.

"Tuscany is a beautiful region" Henry gushed as Hodges glared at him clearly not appreciating his attempt to converse with his woman. Morgan began to realise her decision to bring Henry had been a very good one after all.

"I went to Tuscany with my grandmother when I was 10" Henry continued "... She's Sicilian...doesn't really like Italian's though..."

"Ahhh Ginzo!" Elisabetta cried, Henry and Morgan exchanged confused glances as Hodges quickly silenced his fiancée and muttered indistinguishable words in Italian into her ear.

It obviously worked though because she settled back in her chair with a scowl and her arms crossed and refused to indulge in any more conversation. An uncomfortable silence settled over their table and the waiter took their orders with a frown. Elisabetta stood from the table dramatically after he left and sashayed her way outside, closely followed by one very nervy David Hodges muttering his apologies as he did so.

"Did you hear what she called me?" Henry asked, his eyebrows high on his face.

"I know! This really isn't going well is it?" She couldn't help the smile that broke out on her face as she saw Elisabetta and Hodges argue in the smoking area outside. It was becoming evident just how dysfunctional their relationship was and it was apparently no secret that she was enjoying it.

"You're loving this aren't you? What is this, some kind of double date wrecking ball?" He muttered, the realisation dawning on him that he was right. Morgan simply shrugged, her eyes returning to Hodges and Elisabetta who were now in the middle of a make-out session that turned her stomach.

"Is it really that obvious?" She whispered, turning back to her wine.

"Pretty much" He sighed.

Morgan tapped her nails on the side of her wine glass and shrugged "Wanna have some fun?"

Henry eyed her and drew his eyes to the window, a grin breaking out on his face as he nodded "What did you have in mind?"

Morgan raised an eyebrow and looked around the restaurant before whispering "Sabotage"


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: **_

_**So, I'm thinking this has one more chapter in it... let me know if you agree. **_

_**I apologise for any discrepancies in the Italian, I fully blame Google Translate for that. I have no Italian knowledge at all unfortunately so I can't even proof read it.**_

_**Enjoy :)  
Charli x**_

When he returned to their table Hodges was struck by two things. Firstly, his argument with Elisabetta had drawn the attention of most of the restaurant patrons causing a flush to cross his cheeks immediately. Secondly, Morgan and Henry were not only oblivious to the attention but they seemed so deep in a whispered conversation he almost felt rude sitting down at the same table as them. He felt a strange pang of jealousy as he watched them and found himself frowning as he took his seat across from Morgan, completely ignoring Elisabetta by his side.

"I was just telling Henry about the first time you took me here..." Morgan smiled, he wasn't certain but there was a small amount of mischief in her grin and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously wondering exactly where she was going with this conversation.

"I don't think I recall..." He muttered, smoothing out a napkin on his lap and taking a sip of wine.

Of course, he did recall their 'date' with their parents. Despite the overwhelming air of disbelief he had felt during that time he had somehow been able to remember ridiculously tiny details. Things like the way her hair shone in the dim lighting and the way she tapped her nails nervously on the stem of her wine glass in between meals.

Morgan flicked her long hair over her shoulder and leaned across the table a little, as though she was keen to narrow the space between them. He could feel Elisabetta's eyes burning into him as his skin prickled with the scrutiny.

"Oh David you remember..." She cooed and Hodges was suddenly very wary of the route she was going. Elisabetta had tensed by his side as she watched them carefully, he knew he had to be very smart about how much Morgan revealed.

He tried everything to make her stop without using words, he and Morgan were incredibly skilled at the art of having a full conversation with only facial expressions, a fact he was genuinely proud of but this time she was either unaware of his attempts or she was ignoring him.

"Remember that double date?" Morgan smiled softly and placed her hand over his "with my dad and your mom..."

"Which one?" He laughed, finding the fact they had been on several dates with their parents ridiculously funny in that moment.

Henry was desperately trying to hold a conversation with Elisabetta, telling her all about his short time in Tuscany. He glanced at her briefly, her eyes fixed firmly on Morgan's hand as it rested on his in the centre of the table.

"At this place... " She continued, her fingertips drawing invisible patterns on his palm "What was it your Mom said?"

"My mother says a lot of things..." He dismissed, nervously pulling his hand away from Morgan's.

"Yeah I guess she does. Have you met Oliva yet Elisabetta?" Morgan pressed, meeting Elisabetta's eye in an act of defiance.

For a long moment the two women simply sat there with their eyes locked in some kind of epic mental stand-off. Henry squirmed uncomfortably in his seat, glancing around for the waiter. Hodges wished he would turn up with their meals just to distill the tension he could feel filling his chest cavity.

"Who is Olivia?" Elisabetta questioned, a frown dancing over her deep, dark eyes.

Morgan smiled and sat back in her seat as though declaring her victory as Hodges found he was completely lost for words, struck dumb by this incomprehensible display of one-upmanship.

"Oh, I assumed David would have introduced you to his mother in Italy..."She purred.

Hodges simply stared at her open-mouthed across the table. Elisabetta was watching him, waiting for his answer or explanation as the waiter placed their plates on the table silently.

"We... had more important things to do..." Hodges finally stated.

Elisabetta smiled and flashed a victorious glance towards Morgan, her hand rested on his leg under the table and he began to concentrate really hard on calming his breathing.

"Of course, I understand." Morgan nodded, her tone suggesting she knew something Elisabetta did not. This had the Italian beauty on guard immediately and she began to squeeze Hodges leg.

"Why have I not met your mother David?" She questioned, twisting in her seat to face him and wait for her answer.

The silence hung very heavily in the air between them. Hodges stared at Morgan who held his eye with an unwavering icy stare. Elisabetta watched Hodges, her hand now resting on the table palm down against the cool dark wood. Henry shifted uncomfortably once more, unsure exactly what he should be doing.

"David has mommy issues..." Morgan finally stated, breaking the icy silence but holding Hodges' eye all the same with one arched eyebrow as though daring him to disagree with her.

"I do not have 'Mommy issues' I just... my mother is... special. She's judgemental and narcissistic and sometimes she's just plain mean and she wouldn't approve of this..."

"You know he told me all this when we pretended to date too..." Morgan interrupted "She's actually very nice. We have coffee..."

Hodges wasn't sure whether to be more surprised Morgan had told Elisabetta about their faux relationship or the fact that she was seeing his mother behind his back.

"you dated this bimbo?" Elisabetta demanded an answer, her hand slamming on the table and all eyes turning in their direction once more.

"No, we pretended 'fingere'" He desperately tried to calm her down and explain the situation but he could tell by the fire in her eyes she was in no mood to listen. He turned his eyes to Morgan, hoping to find some sympathy and friendship but was faced with a similar fire he had found in Elisabetta.

"I'm not a Bimbo..." Morgan shot towards Elisabetta before turning to him looking for back up "David will you please tell her I'm not a bimbo?"

"I'm not sure there is an Italian word for Bimbo" Henry pointed out.

He was attempting to lighten the situation unfortunately he failed miserably and Morgan's irate stare turned to him.

"I'm pretty sure she understands that one in English Henry!" She cried.

"Please... essere bello?" Hodges whispered.

"Non voglio essere gentile con questa donna!" Elisabetta shook her head.

"Ho bisogno di questo" Hodges replied in stilted Italian.

"Your italian is getting better..." Morgan almost sighed "remember that all nighter we pulled trying to learn Italian together... I guess now I know why"

She kept her eyes focussed sadly on the table, picking her nails and suddenly looking so much more vulnerable and hurt than he had ever noticed in her before. Elisabetta was furiously tugging at his arm as he watched Morgan and felt his heart tearing in two.

"What is this 'all nighter'?" Elisabetta cried as he attempted to ignore her concentrating instead on Morgan twirling her fork around between her fingers and examining his food.

"It's nothing." He grumbled.

Elisabetta turned her attention to Henry as he held his fork in mid-air. She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows and Hodges knew that Henry would be completely defenceless to her intense stare.

"It's when you stay up all night... you know..." He stuttered, unaware that his explanation implied that an all nighter was a lot more promiscuous than it actually was.

"Per tutta la notte!" Elisabetta muttered.

"No, not ... not like that" Hodges shifted his eyes between his fiancée and his best friend finding himself torn between the two. He wanted to reassure Elisabetta that nothing had happened between himself and Morgan but at the same time he had this unexplainable need to do it without letting Morgan think that there never would be.

"Sei stato sveglio tutta la notte con il suo parlare la lingua dell'amore, ed è 'not like that'!?"

"I have no idea what's going on..." Henry whispered towards Morgan as they retreated from the argument stewing before them.

"I think we just learned how to swear in Italian." Morgan answered with a small sideways smile.

"Morgan and I...we're just friends" Hodges insisted, looking to her for back-up he wouldn't get. She felt bad for causing so much conflict in his relationship but consoled herself with the fact that she knew she had his best interest's at heart. Elisabetta was not what Hodges needed, that didn't neccesarily mean that she _was_ what he needed but she was certain Elisabetta was wrong for him. "Imici... That's all"

"Imici..." Morgan whispered into her meal "ouch"

"Harsh" Agreed Henry.

"In Italy we don't 'Per tutta la notte' with our friends..." Elisabetta told the entire restaurant with Hodges grasping her arm and speaking through his teeth to calm her down.

"I know but please... stop worrying. Calmare" He hissed.

"Calmare" Repeated Henry, holding up his glass towards Morgan.

She smiled despite the situation and tapped her glass against his with a nod of her head.

"Calmare" She said.

Elisabetta stared at them through narrowed eyes as they tucked into their food. Morgan could feel her eyes burning into her over a prolonged period of time before she finally relented and gave her her attention.

"Non mi piace il suo" She demanded.

"Elisabetta!" Hodges reprimanded.

Morgan frowned. The way Hodges was behaving suggested that she had just been insulted.

"What did she say?" She queried.

"Nothing." He declared a little too quickly for her liking.

Henry tapped a few buttons on his phone and turned to Morgan.

"She said she doesn't like you" He explained, waving the phone in Hodges direction as he glared at his 'friend' and seethed with anger. "Translation... there's an app for that!"

"Well I don't like her much either" Morgan stated, crossing her arms across her body and pursing her lips.

"Morgan, please" Hodges begged.

He reached out his hand to her, hoping that there was a way to smooth over this whole thing. He hadn't imagined his meal would ever go this way, for some reason he had genuinely hoped it would have gone well. Best case scenario had been for the women to actually like each other, something he knew was unlikely and yet he had never suspected this date would have awoken such hatred.

"Well what do you expect?" Morgan sighed, snatching her hand away.

"Sta cercando di rubare voi!" Elisabetta piped up, Henry practically holding the phone up to her face in an attempt to translate her war cry.

"No, no she isn't" Hodges replied, keeping his eyes on Morgan like she was some kind of specimen. Morgan hated how he could somehow see right through her. She liked to think she was at least a little bit of a mystery to some but to David Hodges she was completely transparent.

"She thinks you're trying to steal him" Henry informed her.

"Yeah well maybe she's right!" Morgan cried, immediately regretting allowing the words pass her lips.

"I knew this!" Elisabetta declared her victory and slid her plate across the table.

"Oh come on... you are both being ridiculous!" Hodges waved off their argument as much as he could.

"I think it's quite hot" Henry muttered, receiving the glares of both women as they finally joined forced to tell him to shut up.

"At least I'm not using him to get into the country" Morgan attacked, directing her words directly at Elisabetta.

"Morgan..." He begged.

"Well its true" She huffed, returning her eyes to the table.

"Che tipo di donna farebbe questo? è possibile che non la vedo più" Elisabetta moaned.

"Elisabetta... you don't get to decide that" Hodges retaliated.

Morgan frowned "Decide what?"

A palpable silence filled the space before Hodges waved his hand.

"It doesn't matter" He said, his voice sad and quiet.

Henry slid a little closer to her and muttered loudly in her ear "She said he can't see you anymore"

"Thanks Henry, real helpful" Hodges cried, shaking his head and narrowing his eyes at the other man cursing the day a translate app was ever invented.

"Oh I think its plenty helpful..." Morgan cried, clutching her jacket and swiftly storming out of the restaurant. She realised as she marched outside that she couldn't bear to be around when he made that particular decision.

"Morgan..." Hodges whimpered after her.

"Si va dopo la sua e io tornare in Italia stasera" Elisabetta demanded.

"Elisabetta..." Hodges massaged the bridge of his nose, feeling his stress levels shoot through the roof.

"No, you decide. Now" Elisabetta pushed, her eyes holding steady and her lips pressed into a firm line. Hodges thought hard about this decision. He wondered what his life would be like should he turn his back on her for Elisabetta, he had never thought to picture a life without Morgan. She was such a huge part of his life that it never entered his mind that she might not be there. The feeling that he couldn't live without her hit him like a ton of bricks all at once. He found himself feeling breathless as his heart pulled him towards her and he realised that he had already made his decision. It was always going to be Morgan, nobody could outshine her.

"Allora mi dispiace" Hodges bowed his apologies as he moved further away before taking off at a run towards the door and Morgan.

"Well... that was awkward" Henry muttered, taking a long drink of his wine and keeping his eyes on the table as he tried to stave off the embarrassment of a very public breakup.

"Get me a Taxi Henry" Elisabetta demanded.

Henry knew enough about Elisabetta to know not to argue with her. Instead he downed the last of his drink and nervously stood up to help her into her jacket wishing he had stood his ground and had a take-out with his fish tank instead.

"Yes Ma'am"


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N: Thank you for all your reviews and support so far. It makes me incredibly happy to know I am not the only one! This will be the last chapter I think, unless you disagree...you know what to do!  
Charli xx_**

He knew where to find her. It wasn't hard to figure out where she would go although he was certain she would still be surprised when he showed up. He had took her to this place, where the neon didn't quite reach the sky anymore and you could see the stars. They had lay on the grass, spotting constellations and watching shooting stars feeling like they were a million miles from everyone else. There was something magical about standing in the middle of a city and still being able to stargaze. Which is what made this place so special.

Coincidentally this was also the first place he had an earth shattering realisation that he was in love. He was surprised it hadn't hit him before but as it stood it turned out that he had been captured by cupids arrow in a subtle, non-invasive way and it caught him completely off guard... and at the same time, he realised it had been coming all along.

There was something incredibly enchanting about watching her standing there bathed in the moonlight, and yet it was also a heartbreaking scene as her tears slowly trembled down her face sparkling like diamonds.

"You ever feel like you're in a dream?" She muttered to the air without turning round. He was surprised and a little disappointed that she knew he was there before he was completely ready to launch into a speech. "One you wish you could wake up from and everything would go back to normal?"

"That's actually a medical condition you know..." He informed her, wondering if he should approach her or hold back. Her lack of response convinced him of the latter. "It's called 'derealization' ...70% of people experience it at one time in their lives"

Morgan glanced at him with a frown when he stood by her side. His apologetic smirk hoping to break through the sadness that seemed to cloak her.

"So..." He began, tilting on his heels with his hands pushed deep into his pockets. He felt awkward, a feeling he was becoming increasingly used to when he was around Morgan but one that disturbed him nonetheless. "Elisabetta will probably be gone by the time I get home..."

A silence lingered in the space between them like a shadow. Part of him wanted to keep speaking so that he didn't have to listen to the truth's it spoke but he didn't. He allowed it to hover and fill their minds with all the things they _should_ be saying.

"I'm sorry..." Morgan eventually spoke "I didn't mean for that to happen"

There was insincerity in her voice but he didn't feel any resentment towards it. She had been right to doubt Elisabetta's intentions towards him and unlike everyone else she genuinely did have his best interests at heart.

"Yes, you did" He said, a small smile tugging at his lips and telling her that she had nothing to fear in being honest with him.

"Well...maybe a little" She shrugged, nudging his arm with her elbow playfully.

She had questioned her resentment of Elisabetta many times. While she was not naïve to the fact that she was insanely jealous she was also certain that the uneasy feeling she had deep down in her stomach about the woman came from a more logical part of her brain.

"I guess I should thank you" Hodges remarked, his eyes searching the horizon painted before them.

"Thank me?" Morgan seemed surprised, her body shifting so that she was facing him at last, the moonlight shining down on her fair hair and making it glow like the proverbial heaven's angel.

"Well, she may have been a little too much for me to handle.." He confessed with a half-smile and a tilt of his head.

"I'm sorry" Morgan repeated, every bit as insincere as before. She reached out a hand to stroke his arm, her fingertips lingering on his forearm for a beat longer than they should have.

"No you're not" Hodges pointed out.

"No, I'm not" She smiled.

"I may have had a call from immigration on the way over here also" He said, Morgan raised her eyebrows in an unspoken question "Turns out...I'm not the first person she's tried to marry...her real name isn't even Elisabetta"

Morgan studied his facial expression for a few long moments, trying to detect his emotions at the reality of his situation. She wouldn't have blamed him for being disappointed, he had invested himself in that relationship more than he would let anyone know. Not even her.

"I won't say I told you so" She whispered, sitting on the ground and gazing up at the stars.

"You don't have to" He assured her, mirroring her actions and sitting beside her. He took a deep breath, wondering where he would find the words to say what he had on his mind. "I'm sorry if I've been a bit...unfair to you"

"It's ok, I understand" She smiled, the honesty back in her voice "Cell phone's, right?"

"I guess living dangerously is over-rated" He sighed, laying down with his hands crossed under his head.

They had lay here like this before, many moons ago to watch a meteor shower. Their laughter and chatter had filled the air more than any number of shooting stars could.

"There's nothing wrong with a little spontaneity now and then" She reassured him, laying beside him and propping her head on her elbow. The air seemed to be filled with a heavy unacknowledged tension. A shiver worked its way up her spine as she met his eye, quickly stealing the breath from her lips until she looked away.

"You're a good friend Morgan" He muttered.

"Right" She sighed.

Morgan couldn't help but feel a small amount of disappointment at the endearment. She nodded sadly and lay back on the soft grass to pick out the constellations. Hodges shifted close and nudges her with his body before raising his head to glance down at her.

"Looks like you're stuck with me for a bit longer" He smiled.

"You know that story you told me, about choosing a new cell phone?" She asked, meeting his eye with an unwavering expression despite the fear rushing through her blood stream. Hodges nodded in response "Yeah, I'm not like that. I choose the first one I see and spend the next 12 months regretting it..."

Hodges smiled at her, a smile that wrapped around her and held her in its embrace. A smile that frightened her as much as it pleased her and made goosebumps cross her skin.

"Maybe we should swap notes" He whispered, his hand moving to caress her cheek. The action brought a gasp to her lips and he pulled back a little as though stunned by it himself.

"I've been taking notes on you for a while" She confessed before he had the chance to retreat completely.

For a long moment he seemed to just pause there, suspended in the air and unsure exactly what he should be doing. Morgan desperately searched her mind for something to say that would distill the suffocating tension settling over them but came up empty.

"Then maybe I should have been taking notes on you" He whispered, dipping his head towards her and gathering her lips against his. She found herself surrendering to the moment with such conviction it was as thought the world had fell from beneath them as they lay there under the stars. He kissed her so gently and with such emotion that she didn't dare move when he broke away in case she had been right and it had all been one long, crazy dream but when she opened her eyes to find his crystal clear blue eyes waiting for him she realised that this wasn't a dream at all.

It was a beginning.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So I love Modges so much I couldn't help but right more and Y'all wanted some extra so here we go. I wanted to try and write some smut, it has been my Modges achiles heel to be honest and I wanted to try and get over it but apparently I have 2,000 words worth of build up to get out first. I will get to it if you would like to read it, if not then it can end here. This is in honor of Wallace Langham's Birthday (which was on Monday and when I started this...its amazing how inspiring staring at that mans face can be - if you are me) anyway, you know what to do ;-) Much love to you all and may you have a wonderful weekend when it comes (mine comes early because I am going away for my birthday) Love you all, Charli xx**

For a long time Morgan and Hodges just lay there on that hill watching the universe put on a show just for them. Morgan's head rested on his chest, she could hear his heart beating through his shirt and the words he spoke vibrating in her ear, her fingers laced with his and he spoke about the stories in the stars. She never grew tired of his seemingly infinite wealth of knowledge, instead she basked in listening to him speak so enthusiastically about these myths and legends.

"One day I'm going to find something you know nothing about David Hodges" She smiled, knowing it was probably very unlikely she was. She had images of him sitting at home consuming every page of an encyclopedia in an effort to remain on top of his game.

"That will only happen when we are an old couple sitting on our porch and can't remember each others names" He assured her.

It seemed a strange image to conjure up. An elderly version of them flashed before her eyes, still relentlessly teasing each other and arguing over who should take out the trash. It was something that was almost terrifying and yet somehow something she still wanted to turn into reality.

"Maybe by then you will have already told me everything you know" She pointed out.

It almost made her feel sad to think that there may be a time in the future when they would have run out of things to talk about. Silence was not something they often shared, he always had something to say about everything. It was part of his unfathomable charm.

"Then I will just have to keen on learning then won't I?" He smiled.

She knew that he would be the type of man who would never stop in his quest for knowledge. She could picture him in his 80's participating in online seminars and eating up new research papers as soon as they were published. It reassured her to know that in this vision she also saw herself by his side.

A shiver suddenly wound its way across her body and she realised how cold it had become. They had been protected from it while they were wrapped up in each other but as time wore on, body heat began to do less and less to stave off the chill in the air.

"We should probably get back to civilisation" Hodges muttered, standing and reaching out his hand to her as she propped her upper body up on her elbows.

Morgan nodded, her eyes scanning the light laid out before them. A part of her feared going back there, she knew that things would get complicated the second they faced their lives. There were so many things standing in their way - Their jobs, their friends, her father, his mother.

Hodges pulled her into a standing position in front of him and they were suddenly captured in a moment of such intensity he could barely bring himself to take a breath.

It wasn't the first time he had found himself being caught off-guard by her beauty and the fact that she actually chose to spend time with him when she could be out with any number of handsome men across Vegas. It was, however the first time he had had such an epiphany as he held her in his arms and she gazed up at him expectantly.

He had never been well versed in the motives of romance. His endeavours inevitably ended up in disaster or heartache, more often than not with him being the injured party. He couldn't seem to control the tremble that held his hand as he moved to stroke her golden hair from her face. Her skin was so soft, like nothing he had felt before.

He was so used to wearing gloves, he realised he very rarely understood how things really felt. As a master of his craft he was still capable of forming a description for the CSI's down to the most minute detail and yet even he couldn't begin to describe how it felt to touch the soft, silky skin of someone you loved.

Love; it was a strange concept for him. For many years he had maintained that love was nothing but a series of hormones and nervous impulses from the brain. As a scientist he had been preconditioned to always look for the logical in everything but he was coming to realise that love and emotion laughed in the face of logic.

There was something so primal and instinctive in the way he craved being closer to her. He had once been the type of person to guffaw loudly at the notion of Romeo and Juliet as the star-crossed lovers. The suggestion that a person could ever consider their life to be void without another person seemed so far stretched and unrealistic he simply couldn't fathom anyone taking it seriously. His preconceived ideas were rapidly crumbling to his feet as he found he understood it now. He could completely understand how losing someone you had formed such a bond with could be physically painful. He had felt it when Morgan marched out of the restaurant a few hours earlier.

The way their lips naturally found their way to each other felt so poetic he couldn't possibly resist. He hovered his lips over hers and took a breath, just for a second as though he felt the need to commit the moment to memory. Their eyes locked, Morgan had the tiniest trace of a frown on her brow for a moment until finally he pulled her closer until her body was pressed against him. Every one of his senses seemed to hone in on the woman in his arms, the rest of the world fading into oblivion.

Hodges laced his fingers through her hair, feeling the silky strands flow through his fingers delicately. He could feel her muscles tense slightly and then relax into his embrace as their kiss deepened, her heart was racing in competition to his. Slowly, he snaked his hand down from the back of her head to the curve of her neck, following the trail of her spine with his fingertips. She shifted on her feet, a sigh dancing in the air as it escaped her lips and he found himself caressing her collarbone with his lips, pressing against her until he felt he could actually feel her blood coursing through her veins.

"We better get you home" He whispered into her hair.

Morgan held him close, a simple nod her only response as she clung to him with her head on his chest. Every fibre of his body wanted to stay right there locked in her embrace. It felt so safe, welcoming and natural that he wanted nothing more than to cherish it but he knew that there was a very slim chance he could live his life up there on that hill.

They silently climbed to the bottom, the realities of the city hitting them with impolite vigour. The shadows seemed to lurk immediately under the neon haze of the street lamps. Morgan shifted a little closer as they walked, her arms wrapped around her body and a gentle, coy smile painted on her face.

"I ... didn't drive.." Morgan pointed out nervously.

Hodges was suddenly struck by what that meant. In times gone by he would have thought nothing of driving her home or even spending the night at her place but suddenly the act assumed huge magnitude and he realised he was just standing there, staring at her blankly with no words forthcoming. After a long pause he pushed himself to say something, to get over the debilitating fear he seemed to feel whenever he faced another step along the road towards a serious relationship.

It shouldn't have scared him as much as it did but he knew it scared her just as much. It shone in her eyes and her trembling lip, the quiver in her hands spoke volumes about just how much it meant to her.

"Right..of course.. then, I'll drive you home...I guess" he stumbled over his words, as he so often did when a moment swept under him. But Morgan smiled softly and placed her hand on his arm as an act of reassurance.

"I won't try and jump you or anything" She teased before disappearing inside the car.

Hodges pondered this for a few long moments, wondering how he would react if she did. It struck him that he wouldn't be dead against the idea, he couldn't deny that the thought had crossed his mind. More than once in fact he had suffered the intolerable injustice of working with her in close proximity after an intense dream had visited him in his sleep. He had never told her of course, but he often wondered if she could tell anyway. There was something impish about the way she quirked smiles at him or caught his eye on those days when he could barely manage to look at her for more than a few seconds without being overcome with lust.

Morgan watched him from inside the car. He was just standing there, lost in thought as she leaned back against the seat and willed her mind to catch up. Tonight had been a whirlwind, she couldn't say she was too sure how the events had unfolded but she was absolutely certain that now they had there was no way they could suppress it any longer. The proverbial cat was out of the bag and there was sure to be injuries if they tried to put it in again.

He shuffled closer to the car, shaking his head at whatever internal argument he was having at that moment. It made her smile, he thought of himself as such an enigma when actually he was about as transparent as his windscreen.

He slid into the seat, avoiding her eyes as he fastened his seatbelt and painstakingly checked all his mirrors. He had a routine, she had noticed it after the first couple of trips in his car that he liked to do the same things, in the same order, every single time he got into the car.

When he had finished his little performance he glanced nervously across at her and caught her smiling out of the corner of his eye.

"Whats so amusing?" He questioned, his voice high-pitched and offended.

"Nothing, I was just admiring your little ritual" She teased.

"I do not have a ritual" He argued, a smile crossing his face as he turned to face her, knowing that she was right.

Hodges backed out of the tiny parking area and onto the main streets, the light casting interesting shadows across his face as she looked at him in what she hoped was a subtle way. It was almost as though she was really seeing him for the first time. Her mind was awash with conflicting emotions and idea's, she couldn't make sense out of how she was feeling and she certainly couldn't decide whether this was a good idea or not. Hodges was her best friend, the person she cherished more than anyone else in the entire world and she couldn't quite believe that they had crossed that invisible line into this murky territory.

She would find herself overcome by waves of sheer panic when she thought about the things they had laid on the line; their friendship, their families, their careers.

And then she would look at him and somehow it would all melt away into nothing.

She loved him. It was something she had grown to accept and repress in equal measure and she was finding it hard to control it now the scales were out of balance. As he pulled up outside her apartment and killed the engine, she realised she was still staring at him, still lost in her muddled conscious as she desperately tried to make a decision.

"Would you like to come in for a coffee?" She found herself asking. She wasn't sure where the words had come from but she was sure she hadn't been consulted on this decision. It was a terrible idea, it would only lead to them muddying the already murky waters further and yet when he agreed and followed her inside she felt what she could only describe as desire bubbling up in her stomach and casting its warmth over her entire body like a hug.

Morgan flicked on the light switch and stood at the door, glancing around at her home like she was a stranger. Silence settled between them again, he didn't say anything. He just stood there waiting for her to take the lead and on noticing the open bottle of wine on the counter she took it as a sign and hastily filled two glasses, holding hers up and attempting to think up a suitable toast.

"To... new beginnings" She finally declared.

Hodges watched her, his expression unreadable and mysterious until a smile found its way to his features and lit up his entire aura. He seemed to ponder her toast very carefully, as though he was rolling the words around in his mind and familiarizing himself with them. Eventually he raised his glass and tilted it towards the glasses together and taking a long sip of the liquid inside.

"To us" He declared.


End file.
